After reading the topic, please simply answer whether to commission Eiichi or not to commission?

As many of you already know, the Hagi SO pieces are far from accidental.

Currently there are generally 3 integral people envolved.

The artisan, it all starts there.

Mago, he works personally with these artisans and is integral to the SO's success. Nothing you see in an SO is picked out of a catalog, these are all custom made pieces created for TeaChatters with the goal of sharing Japanese teaware culture with the international community.

Moi. I work hand in hand with Mago and the artisan to create SO's that are not only "special" but unique and truly different and hopefully spectacular. Often I am very involved in the design work, selecting/creating a glaze, a style, the actual clay to be used, a size, the X factor, in combination. And then negotiate the price point to be below a perceived market value for such a unique piece.

I have never just said, "tell Yamane-San to make us something." I maintain a level of control of the process in order to maintain the overall integrity of the SO program. All the while allowing for the creativity and the uniquely Japanese nature of Hagi.

However ... I am very seriously considering a commissioned SO from Eiichi. I feel his youth and fire comes across in really amazing works of TeaArt. He has learned from his grandfather Shibuya Deishi and is poised to jump to master himself. Case and point, "SnowDrifts" are absolutely spectacular. The skill and artistic talent belies his youth.

What I am considering is giving Eiichi virtual control to create a Hagi SO, a Hagi Commission Special Offer, just ask him to be creative. He would still need to create somewhat similar pieces.

I ask because this would include members who are willing to step out in faith and say, "YES, count me in!" Literally. I would require a commitment from X number of members who want to participate in something that I believe could be truly unique and special. A price restriction would be set in advance, and a deposit would be asked of those who say yes.

If the deal falls through prior to completion, all monies would be returned. However if the commissioned pieces are completed as planned, "we" would be counting on you to make final payment, and the deposit would be nonrefundable.

Due to the unique nature of the SO, a different methodology would have to be adopted for members' selection of their pieces, I would propose a combination of the current process where individual members pick out 3 pieces and their final selection is based on first come, first served.

But instead, in the case of multiple members selecting the same piece, there would be a drawing for that piece. No first come first served since it is not practical.

If you win the drawing, you win that piece. If you lose, then you would be looking at your second choice, etc.

Amazingly BTW, all but 1 or 2 members received their first pick for SnowDrift!

I think you alluded to an answer to this, but I just want to be sure, this commissioned work would be completely unique, as in it is not really something we have seen before on Mago, and it would still be under the current restriction from Mago for the time needed to pass before similar pieces can show up on Mago?

I have more to say but I'm trying to figure out how to best word it right now, and that answer might effect it a little bit.

The goal is to instruct Eiichi ... encourage would be a better word ... to use his creative energy to create a unique and new piece.

I would request that this piece remain unique for a period of time TBD, negotiated. Keep in mind, the longer the time period of exclusivity, the more expensive the piece would be. This is a simple reality.

However, this could also be a new launching point for new pieces to be created by Eiichi after the commissioning. We would be a pivotal part of this process. We might see pieces years later that we can still see the influence of the commissioned work.

You know me, I am pretty much always sort of "in" as long as the price is not prohibitive. I'd also like/hope to have some ballpark idea of size/volume before committing and making a deposit. Practically speaking, I don't use the smaller cups very often, and this might be a factor that would help me determine if the purchase is justified.